Summer Games Challenge 2015

[Exhuminator]

Woo, more King's Field from you! I'm looking forward to hearing more about your adventures in a series I know very little about.

Man everyone should play King's Field IV at least. (The games are independent of one another plot-wise, so no issue there.) I am not being hyperbolic when I say it's one of the greatest games I've ever played. Definitely the best dungeon crawler. It's also a bit of a survival horror game, and I know you enjoy those. The funny thing is the first time I played KF IV, I hated it. Years later I gave it another try, and fell in love with it. I am not kidding when I say KF IV blew my mind with how deep and immersive it becomes. It's a masterpiece of grand majesty.

[Key-Glyph]

It might raise my spirits a little to hear that back in the day the fight against Mother Brain was a pain the ass for you guys, too.

I got so close on one attempt, and then I got knocked into the lava in front of her and couldn't get out.

Grumblecakes.

[Key-Glyph]

1. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
2. Metroid (NES)
3. Super Mario Bros. (NES)
4. Phantasy Star III (GEN)
5. Earthworm Jim (GEN)

Aww yiss.

Regarding Mother Brain... I just really needed to calm the @#*& down. I get way too panicked at final bosses sometimes.

[BoneSnapDeez]

That fight is rough. It's basically impossible to win without taking tons of hits yourself. And those regenerating walls.

The worst part about losing the fight is losing your missiles. So annoying.

Anyway, nice job!

[marurun]

Aww yiss.

Regarding Mother Brain... I just really needed to calm the @#*& down. I get way too panicked at final bosses sometimes.

You and a lot of other folks on their first couple attempts.

Like me.

[Exhuminator]

It might raise my spirits a little to hear that back in the day the fight against Mother Brain was a pain the ass for you guys, too.

I remember as a kid running up to her and just unleashing missiles as fast as I could push the button. Those evil doughnut things kept knocking me into the lava or whatever it is, and then I'd have to climb back up and keep missilin' away. Extra energy tanks is all I can say. YOU CAN DO IT FOR SPACE JUSTICE

-

So last night I put two hours into King's Field II (I'm just going with the Japanese numbering system here). Whoo boy is it tough so far. This one is harder than the first or fourth game, at least in the beginning. Here's how it went:

I appear on the shores of a dark island. I walk forward two steps, fall into an ocean, and drown instantly. I appear on the shores of a dark island, I walk around the shore, I find a huge tentacle monster. It hits me once. I die instantly. I appear on the shores of a dark island, I walk around the shore, I find a cave, I go into the cave, I find myself surrounded by carnivorous plants. They gang up on me in a corner and bite me over and over. I die instantly. I have only found one place to save my game thus far. It's a save crystal in a room hidden behind a secret wall. That's right, the only place I can find to save my game is in a secret room I found by accident. As you can see, From Software was making hard action-RPGs long, long before the Souls series.

And yet, despite being infuriatingly difficult, King's Field II is still compelling.

Compared to the first game, this one seems more "metroidvania" like. It's obvious I have access to a huge area, but I need certain items to reach certain parts of it. I can already see recursive pathways that will serve to make navigation circular. The graphics are improved over the first game, and the whole speed of everything thing has been increased. Your character and the monsters move at least twice as fast as the first game. The monster AI is wayyy improved from the first game also, these bastards are vicious.

I'm not really sure how much I like King's Field II yet. So far I don't think it's better than the first King's Field. But again, I'm only 2 hours in, so maybe once I get to the point where I'm not dying constantly and can really explore the place, things will improve. As it stands now this is purely an effort in curiosity.

[Ack]

Hey, don't feel bad. It sounds like it could be fun to get the hang of and a real badge of honor to beat.

Final Fantasy V

I've finished the pyramid and am saved right outside it. Since enemies in the desert give around 4 job points and there is a town nearby, I may just grind out the last jobs for my melee characters and let that be that.

[Sarge]

I still am interested in King's Field IV, just from your recommendation. Maybe I should just download it and give it a shot. Copies are a little pricier than I'd prefer right now.

[Exhuminator]

Sarge, I honestly think if you can push past that first difficult hour, King's Field IV will have its hooks in you. It is an extremely immersive experience and could easily devour your whole weekend without you realizing it. Also even though it's the fourth game, it has its own independent story. You're not going to be missing anything by skipping the other games. The only common thread between them is the "Moonlight Sword", but I won't ruin why that is.



IMO, KF IV is the ne plus ultra dungeon crawler. I was actually kinda depressed when I beat it. All I could think was, "Welp. Guess it's all down hill from here."

[MrPopo]

Hey, don't feel bad. It sounds like it could be fun to get the hang of and a real badge of honor to beat.

Final Fantasy V

I've finished the pyramid and am saved right outside it. Since enemies in the desert give around 4 job points and there is a town nearby, I may just grind out the last jobs for my melee characters and let that be that.

Keep going another 5 minutes in the story and you'll get back the airship so you can get back to Bal Castle and its awesome basement.